Growing and innovative small and medium sized businesses in East Cambridgeshire are being encouraged to apply for grants of up to £7500.
The money can be used to create or safeguard jobs or bring new products to market. Businesses can also use it to invest in new technologies, processes or measures to improve productivity.
In total £164,750 is being made available to East Cambridgeshire District Council and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority through the UK Shared Prosperity Business Grant Fund.
The programme is open to any existing SME or micro businesses located within the district with a turnover of less than £1 million.
The fund is designed to support smaller local businesses looking to grow, with support available for both capital expenditure, which can include things such as machinery, technology, or shop refurbishment, and revenue expenditure, such as staff training and marketing.
Applicant businesses should have in place a strong business plan that:
- demonstrates plans to grow the business
- how funding will be used to support this growth
- where applicable how funding will support job creation including apprenticeships
- how the funding will support the business to respond to market changes
- a clear delivery plan for the project that funding is supporting
- how the funding will be of benefit to the wider local economy, for example, the supply chain
Interested businesses can submit an Expression of Interest form before Friday 1 August.
If approved, applicants will be invited to submit a Full Application by Friday 22 August 2025.
The minimum award available to any successful applicant is £2000 and the maximum award is £7500. Access to grant funding for those businesses who are approved will be up to a maximum of 60% of the total project cost (for example, a maximum grant of £3000 would be available for a project costing £5000).
Cllr Alan Sharp, Chair of the council’s Finance and Assets Committee, which approved the funding, said: “We are delighted to once again be in a position of encouraging local businesses to invest in East Cambridgeshire. We are particularly keen to hear from enterprises that want to grow or expand, helping to create new jobs and invest in technology and processes for the future.”
So far in 2025, more than 10 grants totalling over £200,000 have been paid to local businesses in East Cambridgeshire, including Biologic Technologies, Cathedral St James, and Raglan Projects, through our latest Capital Growth Fund.
More information, including eligibility criteria and the application form, can be found on our UK Shared Prosperity Business Grant Fund webpage. Any enquiries regarding guidance should be directed to: business@eastcambs.gov.uk